


the sun also rises

by ADreamingSongbird



Series: gone away is the blue bird, here to stay is a new bird [3]
Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Ash Lynx Lives, Gen, Meet the Family, Mother-Son Relationship, POV Outsider, Post-Canon, Trans Okumura Eiji
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:54:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24599362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADreamingSongbird/pseuds/ADreamingSongbird
Summary: Eiji brings Ash home to meet his mother, as seen through three sets of eyes.
Relationships: Ash Lynx & Okumura Eiji's Mother, Ash Lynx & Okumura Eiji's Sister, Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, Ibe Shunichi & Ash Lynx, Ibe Shunichi & Okumura Eiji, Okumura Eiji & Okumura Eiji's Sister
Series: gone away is the blue bird, here to stay is a new bird [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576378
Comments: 80
Kudos: 480





	1. the first night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Distractedxglobe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Distractedxglobe/gifts).



> this fic was written for veritas!!! thank you so much ♥

It’s late.

_Bzzz-bzzz. Bzzz-bzzz._

Far later than anyone respectable would be calling. Shunichi rubs his temples as he groans, pushing himself out of his desk chair to go find his phone.

_Bzzz-bzzz. Bzzz-bzzz._

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” God, he was sitting like that for way too long, and now his back is _killing_ him. Ow. Max was right, they really are becoming old men…

_Bzzz-bzzz. Bzzz-bzzz._

Ah. Maybe Max is the one calling at this hour. It’s around 22:00 here, so in New York it must be… eight in the morning, yes. That would make sense for Max.

The phone is on the coffee table; Shunichi rubs his poor aching back as he bends down to pick it up.

And freezes.

_Bzzz-bzzz. Bzzz-bzzz._

“Hello, Okumura-san,” he greets politely, but his heart is in his throat. What reason does Eiji’s mother have to be calling him this late? It must be an emergency of some sort! “Is everything alright?”

“Ibe-san.” Nozomi sounds… displeased. That’s not a good sign. “I apologize for calling you so late at night, but I have a few questions, and I didn’t know where else to turn. Do you have some time to talk? It is about my son.”

Oh, Ei-chan… what did you do this time?

Shunichi sinks onto his sofa. “Yes, of course. What happened? Is he alright?”

“He’s fine.” Nozomi sniffs. “It’s… that American he’s brought with him.”

Ash.

Three months in, and sometimes Shunichi still can’t believe Ash made it. Thanks all the gods in the world that he did, too—Eiji’s always been the one for beautiful words and wistful wishes. Eiji looked at Ash and saw the leopard who could come back down the mountain. Shunichi looked at Ash and just saw a boy stripped of his childhood far too soon, a boy who never got to know peace.

Thank god that now, finally, Ash has that opportunity.

It’s the first time Eiji’s brought him from Tokyo back to Izumo to meet Nozomi, though, and Shunichi should have expected things to go awry. He just didn’t think they’d go sideways so fast that she would call him, of all people, on the very first night.

“Ah,” he answers, half a second late. “What… about him, Okumura-san?”

“Who…” Nozomi sounds frustrated, her voice tight. “Who _is_ he? You—you know him, don’t you? You met him in America when Eiji did?”

“Ah, yes, I did.” Shunichi massages the back of his neck. “What did Eiji tell you of him?”

“That he’s his best friend. And that I should be kind to him. That’s all.” Nozomi is definitely frustrated, and Shunichi bites back a sigh. He understands Eiji’s reticence, but sometimes he wants to pull the boy aside. To remind him that his mother _is_ trying.

“It’s true,” he says slowly. “The way those two clicked together, it was incredible to see. They really do have a strong bond.”

It’s the wrong thing to say. He can practically hear Nozomi’s disapproval mounting. “But who _is_ he? Why is he here, in my home? Why did he take two years to show up, if he cares so much about Eiji?”

Shunichi pinches the bridge of his nose and hisses out a slow, slow sigh. “Okumura-san, Ash is a good kid. He’s a smart boy, and deeply caring, but he… has a very troubled home life.”

Jeez. Talk about an understatement.

“So, what?” Nozomi snorts softly. She doesn’t sound impressed. “Plenty of people here also have troubled home lives, and they never get their ‘friends’ shot.”

_Your son is one of those people,_ Shunichi doesn’t tell her. He has to bite his tongue to keep it in—he knows Max wouldn’t have held back, but he’s not like Max. Does Nozomi know how deeply her actions in the past impacted Eiji? Does she know how fractured her son’s trust in her is now?

She must know. She’s still Eiji’s mother, after all.

“Ash did not ‘get Eiji shot’,” he says stiffly. The urge to defend the boy is strong, even if Shunichi knows he can defend himself. He shouldn’t _have_ to constantly defend himself alone. “There were—none of it was Ash’s fault. He is a good boy.”

“He’s the reason Eiji stayed.” Nozomi sounds angry in the way of a bitter lemon, sour at the world and insistent on showing it. It’s a quiet, sputtering anger, the kind that hurts all the more to keep inside. “He is the opposite of good, as far as I am concerned.”

“I just mean that—I know he can make himself hard to get along with,” and here Shunichi winces, remembering the way Ash goaded Jessica when they first met. _Old lady, pass the mustard._ “But please, do give him a chance—”

“Hard to get along with?” Nozomi lets out an incredulous bark of laughter. “What are you talking about, Ibe-san? The boy has been nothing but a saint. A perfect little angel.”

Ibe’s brow furrows. “Okumura-san, I am sorry. I don’t see the problem, then.”

“I—”

Nozomi breaks off. She’s silent for a moment, and when she speaks again, her voice is quiet with bitter shame.

“Because I want to hate him.” She blows out a sigh. “Eiji never showed anyone his pictures, but I saw them—I had to look! You _saw_ how he was,” she justifies, before he can say a word to chastise her for violating Eiji’s privacy like that. “Hardly eating, hardly speaking, sleeping all the days away. He wouldn’t talk to me, I had to know what was happening. What _happened_ to my son. He came home in a _wheelchair,_ Ibe-san—you gave me your word that you would keep him safe, and he came home with a _gunshot wound!”_

Shunichi winces. It’s true, and he has no way to refute it; not a day goes by that he doesn’t feel the same way. “I—”

“No,” Nozomi says, sounding exhausted. “I’m sorry. That was… over the line. I know you did what you could.”

_Then why can’t you extend that same courtesy to Ash?_ Shunichi swallows that question, doesn’t say it. He sighs softly, instead, and pinches the bridge of his nose. Suddenly, he’s exhausted.

“Ash isn’t the one you should hate,” he finally says, voice soft. “It was out of his hands, too.”

“Then whose hands was it in?” The note of bitterness comes back into her voice. “Eiji won’t tell me, you won’t tell me, now this Ash shows up but I know he won’t tell me, either. What am I supposed to think?”

And Shunichi gets it, he does; they’ve all been secretive about Banana Fish and the trauma they all shared. Even now, over two years after coming back to Japan, sometimes he still wakes up thinking he’s chained next to Max, watching Shorter scream as he lunges at Eiji with a knife. It’s not the kind of thing that’s easy to talk about.

But for someone on the outside, the dots are far and few between; how else to connect them than to assume that this boy who came flying after Eiji with a broken heart had a hand in it all?

_Forgive me, Ash,_ Shunichi thinks. He can’t keep all these secrets steeped in pain.

He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Ash’s family situation was… worse than most, Okumura-san. I don’t want to say too much, because it’s not mine to share, but… he is a good boy. He has just been hurt very much. He… nearly died, saving Eiji and me, and he never even asked for our thanks.” He hesitates, then adds, more softly, “The person who attacked Eiji… he was trying to kill Ash. Eiji pushed him out of the way. Ash blames himself.”

Nozomi is silent for a long, long moment. Shunichi can hear her take a slow, deep breath.

“Ash has been hurt by many people,” he adds. “Please, Okumura-san. If not for his sake, than for Eiji’s. Don’t be one of them.”

_“Ibe-san!”_

Nozomi draws rigid defensiveness around herself, a protective cape to ward off the discomfort of his words. Shunichi has seen it plenty of times, in plenty of people, but he’s still disappointed. He hoped she would listen.

“Forgive me if that was out of line.” He sighs. “I care deeply for both of them. I don’t want to see them hurt again. Can you at least give Ash a chance?”

Nozomi is silent for another heartbeat. Then she heaves a deep, defeated sigh. “I… don’t know what’s wrong or right for my own son anymore, Ibe-san.”

It’s a terribly heavy admission, but one that Shunichi has a feeling all parents reach one day or another.

“All my instincts say I should keep him away from a boy like that, and yet… since this Ash came along, I have seen him smile more than ever he has since my husband passed.”

Is this it? Is she giving Ash the chance he so desperately deserves? Shunichi latches onto this opportunity. If he says the wrong thing here and closes this door again, he’ll kick himself.

“They are both good for each other.” He shifts on the sofa, leaning back into the cushions, and closes his eyes. “Seeing them together when we first arrived in America… When he was with Ash, Eiji had that same spark in his eyes again. It was incredible, Okumura-san. That was how I knew, I could never truly get between the two of them.”

He thinks back to a sunny morning in Cape Cod, to the sound of gunshots and Eiji’s delighted grin as he fired a bullet for the first time. To Ash’s amusement and the way Eiji elbowed him for teasing him for being a bad shot. There was a sea breeze riffling through their hair; and Ash’s arm was around Eiji’s shoulders.

They really looked just like boys their own age.

“He has been more like himself.” Nozomi is quiet, reluctant to admit the truth but not so righteous she insists on a lie. Relief flows through Shunichi like the touch of a cool river. “I… have not seen him so lighthearted in a long time. He… he played Mario games with Nahoko tonight. He hasn’t in months.”

So she already understands. She just doesn’t want to accept it.

“They are good for each other,” he repeats. “I think if you get to know Ash, you will like him, too. He really does love your son.”

“Why would Eiji…” and she trails off. There’s a beat of silence. “Eiji took a bullet for him? Why would he…”

Shunichi remembers Eiji’s bitterness over his mother’s infidelity. Eiji confided in him, angry and hurt, once; he was furious and didn’t understand how she could betray his father’s trust so deeply when she claimed to love him. Eiji is someone who loves deeply and recklessly, with his entire soul. It’s not hard for Shunichi to understand why he’d throw himself in harm’s way to protect Ash.

“Eiji really does love him, too.” Shunichi’s voice is soft. “They both went through a lot, Okumura-san. You can ask them; I think Eiji might tell you more now, when he has Ash with him. They are healing together.”

“You think he’ll talk?” Nozomi sounds surprised.

Shunichi can imagine the Okumura household lit by soft golden lamplight, sheltering a kind family and a boy from an unkind world. She’s protective of her children, and she’s angry that Eiji was hurt, but she isn’t an unkind person; Shunichi feels more confident that she’ll be kind to Ash.

“I think so. And who knows? If he still doesn’t, you could ask Ash. Sometimes, I think he’s easier to talk to than Eiji.”

“Hmm.”

They lapse into another silence. Outside Shunichi’s apartment, a car zooms by in the night. Perhaps he’ll call Max after this; it’ll be good to unwind after walking this tightrope.

“I trust your judgment, Ibe-san.” Nozomi sighs softly. “If you vouch for this Ash, I… will give him a chance, I suppose. I… it has been nice, seeing Eiji smile more.”

“Thank you.” His voice is saturated with gratitude. Ash and Eiji both deserve a soft place to call home, after everything they’ve been through; they deserve safety and security and warmth.

“I… had… one other thing, that… I wanted to ask you about.” Nozomi is hesitant, for just a moment. “Forgive me, again; I know this is… not really something we talk about. But I, ah… do you know if he… if they are… together?”

Ah.

What?

This is… not a question he expected.

Together. Ash and Eiji. What else would they be? Two halves of a single soul, intertwined. But that isn’t the answer she wants—she wants a clear _yes_ or _no,_ and that’s not something he’s sure he can provide.

(Ash _did_ kiss the daylights out of Eiji that one time in prison. But that was a performance, Shunichi found out later, and he’s not sure if they ever went anywhere with their relationship in that direction.)

There’s a specific awkwardness in Nozomi’s voice. She’s trying, Eiji has told him—she supported Eiji getting top surgery, she tried hard not to slip up with his name or his pronouns when he first started his transition, and she argued with a doctor on his behalf for calling him her _daughter_ instead of her _son._

She’s trying, but the actuality of some things (like her son having a _boyfriend)_ still seems to take her aback. Especially in circumstances like this.

“They… are, more or less,” he says, after a moment. “I think. They are very close, but to be honest, I do not know what label they prefer for what they have. They have been very private about it.”

“I see.” Nozomi sighs again. Hesitates. “They… cannot get married in Japan. Do you think that means… Eiji might leave again, one day?”

_Married?!_

It’s a good thing that Shunich didn’t make his tea yet, because if he had, he’s pretty sure he would have just spit it across the room. There’s no _way_ Ash and Eiji are about to get married anytime soon—Ash only just got to Japan a few months ago! How did Nozomi jump from being unsure if she’d even welcome him into her home to—to whether he’s going to marry her son?

“I, ah, I think you have some time to discuss that with him!” Shunichi pinches the bridge of his nose. God, he really does need some tea after this. “There is time, Okumura-san. I do not think you need to worry about him leaving again just yet.”

Nozomi lets out a rueful chuckle. She sounds tired all over again, but this time, he’s pretty sure there’s something of a genuine smile in her voice. “You’re right. Thank you for your reassurances tonight, Ibe-san. You’ve cleared up many of my anxieties about this boy.”

Cool, heady relief hits him again, and Shunichi has to swallow a sigh as he sinks down into the sofa cushions. “Ah, good! I am very glad to hear that. Ash is a good boy, and he and Eiji are good together, I think. Just watch, you will see.”

“I suppose I will,” Nozomi agrees. “Thank you again. I’m sorry to have called you so late and kept you up this long. Good night, Ibe-san.”

“It’s no problem!” Shunichi assures her. “Good night to you as well, Okumura-san.”

The line clicks as she hangs up, and Shunichi drops his phone onto the sofa and blows out the sigh he swallowed a moment ago. Good _grief!_

He drops his face into his hands, rubs his temples, and sighs again. Ah, he feels like a tired old man… but at least he managed to convince her to give Ash a chance. Privately, he thinks she already wanted to; she wouldn’t have called him to seek answers, if she had already made up her mind to hate him.

Still. It’s good that she wants to at least try, for Ash. God knows that that boy deserves all the chances in the world, to make up for how many times it failed him.

It’s good that he found his way here, to Japan. Here, he has no painful associations to plague his footsteps; Shunichi is hopeful, like Eiji. Ash can heal.

And in the meantime, Shunichi is going to make himself a cup of green tea. He deserves it after having _this_ sprung on him, dammit.

He hauls himself up from the couch with a groan, and shuffles over to the kitchen. Puts on hot water, adds a teabag to his cup, waits for the water to boil, pours it over… ah, the earthy steam that wafts up is a balm to his tired senses. Perhaps he’ll tell Eiji to get some nice green teas for Ash to try.

…Oh, who is he kidding? That boy probably bought Ash a fifty-flavor sampler set already. He really loves Ash.

It makes Shunichi smile, as he takes the mug and heads back to the sofa. Yeah, he wants to call Max to unwind; he can complain to him and Jessica about the strange conversation he just had, and the sudden pressure to say the right thing with no warning. Stressful things like this, he swears, he needs some heads-up for!

When he picks up his phone again, he realizes there’s a new message waiting for him. From Eiji, no less. Was he listening…?

_[22:36] Ei-chan:  
Thank you._

…He was definitely listening.

_[22:40] Ibe Shunichi:  
You shouldn’t eavesdrop, Ei-chan…_

_[22:40] Ei-chan:  
You have been to my house before. The walls are thin.  
Kaa-san talks loud enough I can hear her from my room. Not my fault._

_[22:41] Ibe Shunichi:  
I didn’t think she was talking so loud!_

_[22:41] Ei-chan:  
Ibe-san!!! I am TRYING to thank you!! _(๑･`▱´･๑)  
 _Now Ash is laughing at me. See what you did!  
Never mind. I un-thank you._

_[22:42] Ibe Shunichi:  
OK, OK!   
Sorry, sorry! You are very welcome. Both of you.   
Is that better?_

_[22:42] Ei-chan:  
Hmmph. Yes. That will do._

_[22:43] Ibe Shunichi:  
Good!  
You still shouldn’t eavesdrop._

_[22:43] Ei-chan:  
_ (; ･`д･´) _!!!!!!!!!_

Shunichi closes the chat, laughing to himself, and takes a slow sip of his tea. Ash is laughing at Eiji, huh? Did he listen in on the conversation, too, or was that all Eiji, crouched on his bedroom floor with his ear to the wall?

(The walls are _not_ that thin. Shunichi isn’t so gullible as to buy that.)

Either way, if Ash can laugh, things must not be so bad. He’s glad to hear it; those boys deserve to laugh.

He sips his tea again, relishing the earthy, calming flavor, and takes a moment to just _breathe,_ into the silence of the night around him. Another car drives by outside as he opens Max’s contact icon and presses _call_.

“Shunichi!” Max picks up on the second ring, bright and exuberant as ever. “Hey! Morning! Or night, to you. How’s it going?”

“Ah, Max,” Shunichi sighs. “You would not _believe_ the night I am having…”


	2. the second day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okumura Nahoko discovers that her brother's boyfriend is just... a normal person, really. Right?

“Did you seriously just take Waluigi from me?”

Eiji sounds absolutely _indignant._ The flabbergasted look on his face just adds points in Ash’s favor, as far as Nahoko is concerned; anyone who can get Eiji to huff like that is someone she’s a fan of.

They’re playing MarioKart on the Nintendo Switch that Ash bought her—it’s the Animal Crossing one, extremely cute, and her spare Joy-Con sets are both pink and green. She’s nothing if not committed to her aesthetics. It’s why she made sure to get Princess Daisy before Eiji could nab her just out of spite.

Though, apparently, he wasn’t trying to.

“You were too slow, flyboy.” Ash elbows Eiji, grinning. “Better be quicker on the draw there, next time.”

“I am going to kick your stupid white ass,” Eiji grouses. “You come into my home, you play Mario with _my sister,_ and you take Waluigi out from right under me! Who am I supposed to play now?”

“Not my problem.” Ash grins again. “Maybe Roy?”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“Wow, Nii-san!” Nahoko fake-gasps. “Such _language!_ What would Kaa-san say if I told her you were teaching me such terrible things?”

Eiji turns his dour frown and puffed-out cheeks on her. “Just you try it, narc.”

Ash snorts. Nahoko sticks out her tongue, and then grins when Ash gives her a thumbs-up behind Eiji’s back.

“Hurry up and pick a character, Eiji,” Ash complains, tugging Eiji back around by the back of his shirt. “We’re waiting.”

Eiji huffs. “I was going to pick Waluigi! Give him back.”

“No way!” Ash looks very pleased with himself. Kind of like a smug cat. “You lost him fair ‘n’ square. Maybe don’t announce your plans to the entire room next time, and you might get him.”

Nahoko approves—Eiji’s almost pouting. This is very entertaining. “Be Wario,” she suggests glibly. “That way you guys can be a couple in-game!”

Eiji levels her a flat, unimpressed look. “Absolutely not.”

“Ow. Rejected.” Ash slouches back against the cushions and lays his legs across Eiji’s lap. Eiji turns to frown at him and pushes them off to the floor, and he laughs. “Wow, _double_ rejected.”

“You can use me as a footrest if you give me Waluigi back!”

“Can’t give ‘back’ something you never had, angelface.”

“Do _not_ call me cheesy pet names right now, you bastard!”

“Ewwww, go be schmoopy somewhere else!” Nahoko smacks Eiji’s shoulder, then leans over to smack Ash, too. “I’m gonna beat both of you extra hard if you keep flirting! We’ll go to Rainbow Road!”

“I’m not going to lose to you,” Eiji says, indignant all over again. “Just because you beat my records in the Time Trials doesn’t mean you can beat me in the races! I’m not _that_ out of practice!”

“Suuure,” Nahoko sings. Doesn’t he know that being beaten by one’s younger sibling eventually is a fact of life? Misaki was complaining about her brother beating her at Smash for the first time the other day. This is Nahoko’s inheritance.

Eiji grumbles for another ten minutes before Nahoko takes the controller from him and forces him to play as Ludwig—the ugliest character in the game, in her opinion—and _does_ pick Rainbow Road.

Eiji gets first place. The bastard.

“HA!” He all but throws down his controller, triumphant, and punches the air with both hands. “Take _that,_ Sakura-chan, you won’t have your new records for long—”

“Shut _up!”_ Nahoko stamps her foot. “Rematch! You only won because of that green shell! And I’m not even wearing pink right now, so shut up extra!”

One of the kanji in her name means “sakura”. Eiji’s a dick who has called her _Sakura-chan_ to tease her for her entire life. Usually for liking pink, because it’s in her name and he thinks that’s funny, but _still._ He’s a dick!

“Items are part of the game!” Eiji sing-songs. “If you get beaten with them, you still get beaten!”

Fed up, Nahoko tackles him. He lets out a squawk of surprise and topples over into Ash’s lap, smacking his head into Ash’s hands, and Ash hisses out a curse as Waluigi falls off the edge.

He ends up in a sad, distant sixth.

“That’s not how motorbikes work,” he huffs, as the three of them set up for another race. “None of this is how anything works.”

“Obviously not. There are literally exploding shells and ramps that let you drive up walls. Sounds to me like _someone_ is a _sore loser,_ ” Eiji says primly.

Ash flips him off.

“Wait, Ash.” Nahoko perks up. “Do you actually know how to ride a motorcycle?”

She knows he’s got _some_ kind of shady past—she’s pretty sure she has it all figured out, from sparse details she’s been given—but she can’t for the life of her picture Eiji’s nerdy, bookworm boyfriend on a _motorcycle._ That’s way too hardcore for him!

“Yeah, ‘course I do.” Ash glances at her. “I used to have one, back in the States. I’ve thought about getting another one out here, but public transit’s good enough I haven’t felt the need, so far.”

Nahoko blinks. “…Huh.”

“He’s a good driver,” Eiji says, and despite the way they’ve been needling at each other all afternoon, there’s unmistakable warmth and pride in his voice. Seriously, he tries so hard to act like he’s not all sappy and lame, but then he gives it all away like that!

She laughs to herself. Eiji’s so head-over-heels for Ash it’s almost hilarious.

(God, she’s glad they’ve found each other again. She still remembers how empty Eiji’s eyes were, this time last year.)

“I can’t imagine that,” she says, wrinkling her nose. “I mean, obviously he’d be a good driver. But I always thought he’d have, like… a Honda Civic.”

Ash blinks at her. “Why that?”

“I dunno.” She shrugs. “It’s the nerd car? No offense.”

“The nerd car,” Eiji repeats slowly. He and Ash exchange glances, and then Ash laughs. Eiji shakes his head, then considers it, and shrugs. “I guess he is a nerd.”

“And yet you’re the one who wears sweater-vests,” Ash says, deadpan.

Eiji elbows him. Nahoko leans over and gives him a high-five.

Ten more races later, Nahoko’s beaten Eiji once, and Ash has discovered the stats menu for vehicle customization, spent ages perusing it, and then moved himself from sixth all the way up to third place. There’s still no catching the two of them, though; Eiji’s still infuriatingly good at MarioKart even though he’s been off at university and Nahoko’s been practicing.

He’s the worst.

“Hey! Ash! Cut it out!”

He’s laughing, now, as Ash elbows him and tries to climb into his lap as a distraction, to knock him off the edge or at least send him into a wall; they’re all but wrestling as Ludwig and Waluigi falter on the course. Daisy pulls ahead at the last second, and Nahoko lets out a shout of triumph as she crosses the finish line while Eiji drives directly into Chain Chomp, and Ash pulls out a Bullet Bill at the last second and knocks into him to steal second place.

“What the _fuck!”_ Eiji drops his controller the second he gets third and gets to his feet to glare at them both, hands on his hips. “That’s cheating!”

“Wow,” Nahoko says glibly. “I can’t believe Eiji’s so bad at MarioKart now that even Ash beats him, when he’s never played before!”

“Wow,” Ash echoes, grinning. He rests his cheek in one hand. “Eiji really sucks at this game.”

“I should never have let you both meet!” Eiji puffs out his cheeks, then turns to smacks Ash on the shoulder and then aggressively ruffles Nahoko’s hair. She ducks with a squawk, and he grins.

Ash catches Eiji’s hand, and the two of them look at each other for a moment. There’s some kind of silent understanding that passes between them, a quiet warmth, before Ash lets go, and sits back with a little smile.

“Let’s watch a movie,” Eiji suggests. “Ash, we were talking about some movie the other day, but I forgot which one. Do you remember?”

“It’s ‘The Princess Bride’.” Ash looks over at Nahoko, and once again, she’s a little taken aback by just how intense his eyes are. “Have _you_ seen it? Eiji hadn’t, til he came to the States.”

“Of _course_ I have!” She huffs, crossing her arms. “I watched it at a sleepover at my friend Misaki’s house years ago. Eiji just has no life and no idea what pop culture is. I think maybe that is why he cannot dress himself, either—”

“No one asked you for that!” Eiji swats her lightly on the head.

“ _Someone_ has to say it!”

“No! No one does!”

“Don’t worry, Eiji,” Ash says, and grins like the Cheshire cat. “At least _I_ still think you’re cute.” He winks, and Eiji’s pout turns into a little wry grin.

“No, no! You just have bad taste!” Nahoko puffs out her cheeks in protest. And no, she does _not_ look like Eiji when she does.

It’s a little odd, hanging out with Ash there. He’s been living with Eiji in Tokyo for a few months now, but Nahoko still hardly knows him past “her brother’s American boyfriend”. He’s not a complete stranger, given that she’s visited and stayed with them a few times, but he’s not close enough that she’d call him a friend, either.

There’s the matter of his bizarre history, too. Nahoko only knows a few things about that—that he got stabbed, that someone was hunting him down, and that he was kind of involved in whatever got Eiji shot. She’s pretty sure he was some kind of genius hacker or something, and he got caught and blackmailed by some shady government organization maybe, and then… Eiji was there or something…?

Whatever. The point is, he hasn’t been exactly forthcoming about it, and no matter how much she wants to ask, even she has enough tact to know that that’s rude.

Besides, as strange as he is, she can’t deny something far more important: that Eiji’s acting like himself again.

Eiji hasn’t laughed this much in forever. He hasn’t had so much light in his eyes or walked with such a skip in his step in _years._ She remembers being eight or nine and thinking that her big brother was so untouchable, that he walked on clouds and the world couldn’t ever bring him down; then their father was hospitalized and their mother had to take on more shifts at work to cover the lack of his income, and…

She’s realized, recently, how much time Eiji spent helping raise her. He’d make her dinner after school on nights Kaa-san worked late, he’d hold her when she cried in fear of Tou-san never coming home again, he’d help her with her homework in the middle of doing his own.

And then one day, he went to the hospital, too. When she saw him again, lying in that pristine white bed after surgery, his eyes were dead. It scared her more than anything she’d ever seen in her life.

And now, looking at Ash, he’s grinning, laughing, joking around. He’s like the big brother she grew up playing games with, not the silent and sad shadow of a shattered soul. Two years ago, after coming back from America, he looked like he did before he left: empty-eyed, smiling hollowly when he bothered at all. Now, he’s brimming with life.

It makes Nahoko feel safe around Ash. If he can bring her brother back from that brink, she can trust him.

They start the movie, and the three of them settle in. Eiji leans his head on Ash’s shoulder, his expression so soft that Nahoko has to look away again—god, Eiji, stop making her third-wheel—as Ash quietly takes his hand and intertwines their fingers.

On-screen, the story plays out. Westley disappears, and Buttercup is kidnapped. The Dread Pirate Roberts scales the cliffs, fights Inigo Montoya, and challenges Vizzini to a game of wits. Eiji mutters something that makes Ash laugh, covering his mouth with his free hand, before he murmurs something back.

Huh. Ash has a nice laugh.

An alarm on Eiji’s phone goes off right as Buttercup and Westley get into the Fire Swamp. Nahoko gives him a quizzical look.

“For making dinner,” he explains, pulling away from Ash and getting to his feet. Ash holds onto his hand until Eiji makes a face and shakes himself free, and they both grin.

“Whatcha makin’? Need any help?”

“Oyakodon!” Eiji says brightly. “And no, do not worry—it is easy. I think it will be done before Kaa-san gets—”

He jumps as Buttercup screams on-screen, as a Rodent of Unusual Size attacks Westley. Ash bursts into laughter as Eiji regains his balance, going from wide-eyed surprise to a flustered, grumpy pout.

“Don’t worry, sweetie,” Ash teases. “You’re safe. I won’t let the evil rats on TV hurt you.”

Nahoko _snorts._ She can’t help it—Eiji’s bookish nerd of a boyfriend, protecting him from a giant rat? No way! Eiji’s the jock, he’s supposed to do the protecting!

“No offense, Ash,” she says, giggling, “but I really cannot picture you in a fight at all.”

…

The following silence is… unexpected.

Ash blinks at her, opening his mouth and then closing it again, before he looks away, stroking his chin as if in deep thought. Eiji just stares at her like she’s sprouted a second head.

“What?” Nahoko defends. “Eiji, back me up! All he does is read books and take naps in the sun! There is no way he could last in a fight! You would have to protect him!”

Ash lets out a strangled noise. Nahoko can’t tell if it’s supposed to be a laugh.

“Nahoko,” Eiji says, as if he’s talking to the world’s stupidest toddler, and then stops. “You know what? I—no, I am going to make dinner now. Goodbye.”

Nahoko begins to feel like she has missed something large. Maybe as large as a Rodent of Unusual Size.

“Eiji!” Ash catches at Eiji’s wrist desperately, but Eiji just shakes his head and marches towards the kitchen. “Eiji, no, don’t go—”

“No, I am out! That’s it! Good luck!”

“What!” Nahoko stares between the two of them, frowning petulantly as Eiji retreats. She _swears_ he’s laughing. “What is it that I am missing! I know you met because of the gang stuff, but Ash is—he recited the entire Periodic Table last night! He is just a nerd! How many lockers did you get shoved into in middle school?”

“I didn’t go to middle school,” Ash says.

He looks bewildered enough that she almost buys it, but she _knows_ school is mandatory in America, too. This is just like the time he convinced her that California is the only U.S. state without legally mandated weekly McDonald’s meals, or that Girl Scout cookies aren’t real and that thin mints are just a nationally understood meme. Or the time that he told her that Los Angeles is the capitol and is in the middle of the country, not on a coast. Or the time he said—

The point is, he’s a _liar!_ Nahoko crosses her arms and laughs. “Now you are just pulling my leg! I know you!”

Ash looks mildly offended that she doesn’t believe him. “I _didn’t!”_

Nahoko just laughs at him again. “Yeah, sure! And Eiji has a fashion sense!”

“Eiji!” Ash complains loudly. “Come back, I need backup!”

“No!” Eiji’s voice drifts in from the kitchen. “That is all your problem now! I wash my hands of it!” And a moment later, the sink turns on. God, Eiji is so dramatic.

“Why do you think I’ve never been in a fight?” Ash looks at her, clearly amused now. “I told you I got stabbed!”

“You are more likely to get stabbed if you do not know how to put up a fight!” Nahoko folds her arms over her chest. This nerdy bookworm man is not about to convince her that he knows how to fight. “You are not about to fool me!”

“I’m not trying to—”

She can see the precise exact moment when Ash gives up on his futile quest. His eyes narrow, and then he huffs, shrugs his shoulders, and throws up his hands.

“Sure. Okay. Yeah. I don’t know anything about how to fight and I’d faint if I ever saw blood. You got me.”

Nahoko narrows her eyes. “Now I feel like you are mocking me.”

“I am,” Ash says cheerily. “I was actually trained in combat by a professional assassin.”

Oh, this man! “Stop it!” Nahoko laughs, leaning over and batting his arm. “I am serious! Do you actually know how to fight?”

“Yes.” Ash rests one ankle on his knee, leaning on the armrest, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Is that really so hard to believe?”

“That is exactly what you said about people getting fined for public indecency if they do not wear cowboy hats in Texas!”

Ash considers that for a second, then shrugs. “In fairness, that one should’ve been hard to believe.”

“So it _isn’t_ true?!”

“Of course not!”

Ugh, seriously? But she already told all her friends about it.“What if I tell Kaa-san that you keep telling me lies about America?” Nahoko huffs. “I know she is not your mother, but I can get you in trouble anyway.”

Ash doesn’t quite laugh back. Instead his smile dims, and immediately, she feels a bit guilty. Kaa-san has been kind of… weird about him this weekend, and she knows it’s stressing Eiji out.

Maybe she shouldn’t joke about it so easily.

“Sorry,” she amends, a little sheepish. “Um… I’m sorry Kaa-san is being so… I don’t know. Strange and awkward with you?”

“That’s okay,” Ash says immediately, though his smile gets a little sadder. “I didn’t expect her to like me right off the bat.”

“Off the bat…?” Nahoko tilts her head to the side. English idioms still confuse her sometimes.

“Immediately,” Ash explains. “I didn’t expect her to like me immediately, after how much Eiji suffered ‘cuz of me, so…”

“Eiji didn’t suffer because of you, though,” Nahoko protests, confused. She tilts her head the other way, feeling a little like a bewildered puppy. “He’s way happier with you around!”

“That’s not what I mean.” Ash’s sad smile bothers her. She wishes it’d go back to the real smile he had when they were playing MarioKart. “He got hurt because of me, and he was alone while I was away from him, and I know he was miserable.”

“But that wasn’t your fault!” Nahoko shakes her head. “Eiji said so. He said it was because of the bad men who were hunting you.”

Ash blinks. Opens his mouth to say something, thinks better of it, and stops. Then he just shakes his head, and Nahoko has to wonder: what’s going _on_ in there? Why do his eyes sometimes look so sad, when no one’s really looking?

“I guess so,” he says, after a moment. “But I don’t expect your mother to not blame me, either way. Eiji did get hurt because he wanted to stay with me, I mean, so…”

“Then that is Eiji’s fault,” Nahoko points out, “and not yours. Eiji is a dumbass. We all know this.”

That startles a laugh out of Ash again, at least, and as she looks at him sitting there on the other side of the couch, this strange handsome American who is so out of place here in Izumo, she can’t help but think: he really does have a wonderful laugh.

“You got me there,” Ash agrees, after a moment. “He is that.”

“I will talk to Kaa-san,” Nahoko offers. “You do make Eiji happy, and it makes him sad that she is being… weird.”

“I think she just needs time.” Ash shrugs. “Ibe-san talked to her last night, too.”

“Yes, I know,” Nahoko says diffidently, before she realizes that maybe she shouldn’t admit to eavesdropping so easily. Then again, Eiji must have done it too, if Ash knows. It’s the pot calling the kettle black—that’s an idiom she knows. “But I will tell her, too. She has to listen to me. I am her baby.”

“Is that how that works?” Ash asks, wrinkling his nose.

Nahoko puffs out her cheeks. “Yes.”

Ash laughs again, his smile warm instead of sad, and gets up from the couch. “Alright. I’ll take your word for it. Hey, we’ve both already seen this movie. Why don’t we see if Eiji needs any help with dinner?”

It feels like she’s just cleared a hard level in a video game and unlocked companion approval points. Nahoko nods, pleased. “Okay,” she says, and trots after him to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nahoko is so fucking stupid... i took eiji calling his sister an airhead in canon once and i RAN with it. i love my idiot daughter, there's nothing in her head 
> 
> thank you for reading!! as always comments are deeply appreciated ♥


	3. the third day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okumura Nozomi passes on a family recipe. It goes better than she expected.

“Ash!”

Nozomi looks over from the kitchen to see Nahoko laughing brightly, her hands out as she bounces on her feet and reaches for Eiji’s… boyfriend.

(The word is still strange to think, not because she doesn’t want Eiji to have a boyfriend but because Eiji hasn’t _told_ her that that’s what this American boy is.)

“Ash, come here! This is a fun song, dance with me!”

“Ugh, Nahoko, you are so obnoxious,” Eiji complains from the sofa, where he’s trying to peer around her to see the TV. “Ash is reading, don’t make him get up.”

“Huh?” Ash looks up from his book and blinks owlishly behind his glasses. He really does look the picture of an innocent boy when he sits like this, curled into the corner of the couch with a throw blanket haphazardly across his lap and a thick book in his hands… but all the same, Nozomi knows there’s more to him.

Nahoko doesn’t, though, and she just taps her foot impatiently. “Shut up, Nii-san, no one asked you! Ash, come here, dance with me!”

Ash tilts his head, listening for a second. “You could dance swing to this. Do you know any swing styles?”

“Nope!” Nahoko all but bounces again. “Teach me!”

Nahoko is a sweet, simple girl. She trusts easily, and loves with her whole heart. Eiji was much the same way, when he left Japan; since he’s returned, though, he’s withdrawn into himself. It’s surprising—but reassuring—to see him so animated again, even if the thing animating him is his needling at his sister. Still, that doesn’t worry Nozomi; the two of them have always traded banter like this.

She thought perhaps Eiji was just healing on his own. That this American boy might have even been a detriment to his healing process after whatever horrible thing happened to him over there—that seeing him might have thrown Eiji back to those days, that he could’ve regressed back into his sad shell.

But it seems to be the opposite. Ibe’s words echo to her: _They are good for each other. He really does love your son._

(She can see it in the way Ash’s eyes soften when he looks at Eiji.)

“—a rock step and a side step,” Ash is explaining to Nahoko, as he holds her hands. He’s so much taller than her, and he has the hardened eyes of a soldier; Nozomi saw those same eyes in her grandfather after the war.

It’s unnerving, seeing those eyes in a boy younger than her son. Perhaps that is why she wanted to push him away at first.

“Rock step, step step,” Nahoko repeats, and tries it out, stepping back and then forward and side to side. “Oh, I get it!”

“No, you don’t.” The smile on Ash’s face is kind, if amused, and Nozomi can’t help but silently approve a little more. He looks at Eiji kindly, too—lovingly, even, especially when Eiji’s back is turned.

“I don’t?”

“Your timing’s off. Rock step is quick, side steps are slow. Quick-quick, slow, slow. Like this.” He rocks back on one foot, then sways side to side, in time with the music. There’s a lithe, almost cat-like grace in his movements, and Nozomi wonders at that. Was he a trained dancer? Seems odd, for an American gangster.

“Ohhh!” Nahoko puffs out her cheeks, then tries again, and this time she lights up when she gets it. “What a weird rhythm. Is that how it’s really supposed to go?”

“It’s called syncopation,” Ash says. “It’s a thing that’s also pretty common in ragtime music, which was popular in the same era as swing dancing. It’s from an old Latin word that actually is, fun fact, the same root as the English medical term for fainting.”

He’s dancing with Nahoko, leading her through the rock-step and step-step the entire time he talks, without missing a beat. So he really is a dancer, and a well-read one at that? Odd. Strange. He speaks a little too fast for Nozomi to catch every word, but he certainly sounds like an educated boy.

“Know-it-all,” Eiji drawl from the couch, and tosses a cushion at him. “Show-off.”

Ash catches the cushion and tosses it back. It lands on Eiji’s lap, and he laughs and holds it there; Nozomi can see him smiling as he watches Ash and Nahoko dance.

She hasn’t seen her son smile like this in a long, long time.

Okay. Perhaps Ibe was right.

Nozomi takes a careful breath, letting it out slowly. It’s strange, having this American boy in her home, making both of her children laugh after how much hell Eiji saw across the world. Ash’s Japanese is clumsy, and Nozomi’s English is tenuous at best; it’s difficult for her to follow along the words the three of them chatter at each other, laughing like old friends.

And it’s strange, because for the longest time, she blamed the boys in Eiji’s photos, hidden in that shoebox under his bed. The one with the dangerous punk look and the purple hair, and… Ash.

He is not what she expected.

But she can’t deny that Eiji is _happy,_ and her own prior misgivings aside… really, that’s the most important thing. He was furious when he realized she looked at his photos; more animated than she’d seen him in a long time, as he stomped his foot like a child and cried _how could you_ and glared at her and threatened to move to Tokyo for good and never come back.

She’s tried to curb her overprotectiveness, since then.

And Ash, well…

He lets Nahoko go as the song ends, and plops down on the sofa next to Eiji again. He glances over to the kitchen, catching Nozomi’s gaze, and she’s a little taken aback, just for a moment, at how piercing his gaze is. His smile fades, and he folds his hands in his lap, sitting a little more primly.

Ibe said he had a bad family. Is he used to being watched from afar?

The thought makes her sadder than she expects—this odd, well-spoken boy who dances with her daughter and coaxes smiles from her son, forced to learn to be aware of eyes on his back. _Worse than most,_ Ibe said of his family situation. What could have happened to him to leave him so guarded?

Eiji follows his gaze and sees her, standing in the door, and the lazy smile drops from his face, replaced by a slight frown. The stubborn set to his jaw is back, as if he’s ready to jump into a fight, should she say something against Ash.

And, really, she wonders how she didn’t see it sooner: In Ash, Eiji found someone he wants to _protect._

Nozomi makes a decision.

“Eiji,” she says, and claps her hands once to get his attention. “We are running low on eggs, onions, and a few other things. Please go to the store for me. I have written a list, so if you go now, you can be back by dinnertime.”

Eiji doesn’t blow out a sigh or kick his feet—he’s far too polite for that—but there’s a reluctance in his eyes as he says, “Yes, Kaa-san,” and turns to Ash to say in Englis,. “She wants groceries. Come on, it will take a little while. We have to take the bus. The corner store never has good onions.”

And here’s the tricky part. Speaking English is hard enough; persuading Eiji on top of that…

“No, Ash can stay here.” Nozomi shakes her head. “There are things at home that need doing, too. He can help with chores. You go and come back yourself.”

Eiji balks immediately, brows knitting together. He may be too polite to talk back or complain when she asks him to do something, but apparently separating him from Ash is over the line; part of Nozomi is a little insulted that he thinks so little of her that he doesn’t trust her with his boyfriend, but she knows, guiltily, that she broke Eiji’s trust first, years ago, by going home with a man who wasn’t his father.

“No, Ash is coming with me!” Eiji sits up straight, eyes flashing. In Japanese, he adds, “You want me to leave him here so you can yell at him about everything being his fault, don’t you? I won’t let you take out your issues with me on him!”

“You’re being ridiculous!” Nozomi shakes her head, frustrated. Even if she blamed him in her own mind—which Ibe already helped her see wasn’t right—she would never say it to him! What kind of host does that to a guest?

“Eiji,” Ash says, and softly touches Eiji’s arm. “Don’t argue with your mother over me. I can take out the trash or whatever it is she needs help with, I don’t mind.”

“But—”

“Eiji,” Ash repeats, and there’s a gentler inflection to his voice. The two of them exchange some sort of look that Nozomi isn’t privy to.

And then Eiji huffs. “ _Fine_. I will go. But if you say anything to—”

Ash touches his arm again. “Eiji.”

Eiji blows out a sigh and kicks his feet, exactly like Nozomi noticed him not doing, a second ago. Funny that around Ash, he acts like a kid again.

(She suddenly misses how small he used to be. When times were simpler, and she could just sweep her baby into her arms and hold him safe from the world. When he still trusted her with his whole sweet, innocent heart.)

“Fine.” Eiji slouches back against the couch. Nahoko looks between him and Nozomi, as if she wants to say something, but before she can, Eiji blows out a breath. “I will go in a few minutes. Ash, come here a second?”

He gets up, and Ash immediately follows him from the living room to the hallway, presumably going back to Eiji’s room. Nozomi assumes Eiji’s going to complain about her, and—that hurts, yes, but it’s her own fault.

She’s working on it.

“Kaa-san,” Nahoko says softly, her eyes wide. It’s uncanny, sometimes, how much like Eiji she looks, almost like a portal back in time. “Are you angry with Ash?”

Nozomi blinks. “No, of course not. We need some groceries.”

“But then why won’t you let Ash go with him?” she asks, voice low. “He really is good, Kaa-san, he makes Eiji so happy! Don’t—”

“Nahoko,” Nozomi cuts in, sighing. “I’m not going to lecture him or anything. What gives you that idea?”

Nahoko gives her a look—the petulant teenager look—and says, “You _have_ been kind of distant with him all weekend.”

And… that _is_ true, but not because of anger. Nozomi doesn’t know how to explain it to her children, of all people; she doesn’t know what to make of this American boy, doesn’t know how to respond to them both being so comfortable with him while she’s left floundering behind a language barrier. She does her best to be a good host, but it would be hard to connect without a common language to begin with, let alone… what happened to Eiji.

“Nii-san getting hurt wasn’t Ash’s fault,” Nahoko adds, and glances at the hallway, as if uncertain whether they’re being listened in on. “They both said so. It was some other bad man. Named… um… Bee-something… Blinky, maybe?”

Blinky?

She shakes her head. That can come later. She’ll ask Eiji again. Maybe even take Ibe’s advice and ask Ash. What matters right now, though, is…

“Eiji is happier with him around.” Nozomi nods once. “I see it, too. So, I want to get to know him, but Eiji is…”

She sighs. She can’t fully bring herself to regret looking at the photos, not when she was so terrified by what he wouldn’t say, but she can’t forget the betrayal in her son’s eyes, either.

They’re working on it.

“Oh,” Nahoko says, and then brightens. “Oh! Okay!”

She’s a sweet girl, always ready to smile for everyone; Nozomi hopes the world never takes that from her. For a long time, she thought it took it from Eiji, that whatever he saw on the other side of the world robbed him of his innocence and happiness.

But Eiji’s smiling again. Thanks to this tall, well-spoken, graceful American with a soldier’s eyes. Who knew someone like that would be the key to Eiji’s joy?

Ash and Eiji both come back from Eiji’s room, then, and let go of each other’s hands when they enter the living room. Nozomi figures she was probably not supposed to notice that, and like any polite host would, pretends to be none the wiser.

Instead, she just smiles at Eiji as he huffs and heads to the front door to leave. “Thank you, Eiji! Go safely.”

“Yes, Kaa-san,” Eiji grumbles, and behind him, Ash lets out a soft snort.

Once the door closes behind him, Nozomi waits a few seconds to be sure he’s out of earshot and not coming back to grab any forgotten keys or wallets or anything, and—

“What would you like me to help with, Okumura-san?”

Ash tilts his head, kind of like a puppy, as he stands in the living room awkwardly, hovering out of place. His Japanese is strongly accented and slow, but comprehensible, and she gives him her best encouraging smile.

“Do you want me to clear the trash? I can wash the floor or clean the bathroom, or—”

Later, Nozomi will wonder why he immediately jumps to the most menial of tasks, as if he expects some kind of punishment just for loving her son. In the moment, she just shakes her head, grinning, delighted that her scheme somehow seems to have _worked._

“No, no,” she says, and grins at him, then does her best to respond in English. “No need. That was…”

She looks at Nahoko for help, as the English word escapes her, and Nahoko flashes them both a bright thumbs-up and says, “A ploy!”

Ploy? Is that really a word? That doesn’t sound right. But Nahoko knows better than her, so she doesn’t question it. English is weird.

“Ploy,” she agrees, and shrugs once. Ash raises an eyebrow.

“A ploy toward what end, if I may?”

Nozomi looks over at Nahoko helplessly. This is going to be more difficult than she thought…

“Kaa-san wanted to get Nii-san out of the house so she could get to know you better without him hovering like an overprotective chicken,” Nahoko translates.

Roughly.

Ash looks surprised, blinking for a moment, and looks from Nahoko to Nozomi. She sighs and shakes her head fondly. “Eiji is not chicken, but yes.”

“He is,” Nahoko insists. “Squawk, squawk, squawk.”

“Nahoko!” Nozomi tuts. They’re pretty close, yes, but she should still have some respect for her elder brother! She’s about to scold her further, except—

Ash laughs, and the entire room lights up. The intense look in his eyes vanishes, the soldier’s steeliness melts into golden mirth like it was never there, and…

Ibe’s words come back to her again. Ash is a good kid with a troubled past. _He has been hurt by many people. Please don’t be one of them._

“I always used to think of him like a bird,” Ash says, and grins, sweet and boyish. Suddenly, looking at him, Nozomi remembers that he’s actually younger than Eiji. “I’m sure he’d love to hear that he’s a squawking chicken, specifically.”

“We can tell him when he gets back!” Nahoko declares, gleeful. She glances back and forth between Ash and Nozomi, and Nozomi knows that look; she’s nervous, reassuring herself that there really are no tensions and Nozomi isn’t upset with Ash.

Nahoko really does like Eiji’s boyfriend. That’s another point in his favor. All the evidence stacks up to say that Nozomi really should stop trying to connect him to the past and accept him at face value.

He makes her children happy. Shouldn’t that be enough for a mother?

“Worry about chickens later,” she says, and beckons Ash to the kitchen. “Come, come. Eiji will be gone for long enough, I hope.”

“Long enough for what?” Ash follows her obediently, and Nahoko trots after him, curious.

Nozomi opens the fridge to take out the beef. She sets it on the counter, then goes about to gather onions, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, ginger, and garlic, and when she looks over her shoulder, Ash has perked up. Does he like to cook?

“I will teach you how to make the curry that Eiji likes best,” Nozomi says. “It is traditional Japanese style. Has he made for you?”

Ash’s eyes widen, and once again, he looks like a young boy, even though he’s easily over a head taller than her and was in a gang. Then he shakes his head. “No, he never did—he made some curry, when we were in America, but he said he couldn’t find the right curry blocks or something? And he complained it wasn’t right the whole time we ate.”

Nozomi nods understandingly. America is a backwards country. Of course they don’t have the right curry blocks available. “Yes. I am not surprised.” Eiji could’ve made the roux himself, but perhaps he decided that wasn’t worth it.

Either way, he will be pleasantly surprised next time he comes home to a pot of this in Tokyo. He might have his issues with her, but he still loves the curry he grew up on.

“First, we cut the meat and vegetables,” she says, and opens a drawer to get two knives, one for herself, one for Ash. “Nahoko, please peel garlic.”

Nahoko plops herself down at a stool by the counter and reaches for the garlic. “How much?”

“A few cloves,” Nozomi answers, then turns to Ash. “You can cook?”

“Yes.” Ash is smiling, still, a sweet smile filled with wonder. Ibe said his family was bad. Is cooking with a family really so foreign to him that it makes him light up like this? “I like to cook. Where do you want me to start?”

Nozomi hands him one of the knives, and points to the carrots. “You know how to cut rangiri?”

“Rangiri?” Ash tilts his head to the side. “I don’t, sorry.”

“It means, like…” Nahoko looks up from her garlic and puffs out her cheeks, frowning. “Rotated? I don’t know how to translate literally, if there is an English word for it, but you just turn it between cuts!”

“Turn it between cuts?” Ash repeats, looking down at the carrots with a little frown. “How much?”

Seeing is better than hearing. Nozomi steps past him and takes the first carrot, peels it quickly, and then tells him, “Watch,”

It’s a practiced motion, making a neat cut, turning the carrot a quarter-turn, and making the next. She repeats it all along the length, until it sits in neat, alternating pieces.

“You see? Rangiri.”

Ash nods, taking the next carrot. “Yes, I can do that. Thank you, Okumura-san.”

Eiji loves this boy a lot. Enough to even take a bullet for him. She wonders if one day, she’ll tell him to call her _Okaa-san_ instead.

He’s got skill with a knife; he makes quick work of the carrots, deft and smooth, before he reaches for the potatoes and cubes them at her instruction. Meanwhile, Nozomi cuts the beef and begins to brown it in a skillet.

Once all of the ingredients are ready, she beckons Ash over to the stove. “First, we fry onion in butter,” she says, and uses her knife to scrape the onions from the cutting board into the big pot. A sizzling hiss echoes around the kitchen as steam billows up, and she passes Ash the spatula to stir. “Fry.”

“About how long should I fry it?” Ash asks, stirring the onions with his free hand on his hip. He’s following her instructions so keenly, picking up slack and filling in the blanks in her English so much that Nahoko hardly needs to jump in.

“It will smell good,” Nozomi explains.

Ash blinks. “Um…”

“Do not try to get a time out of her,” Nahoko warns. “I have never succeeded, and I have been asking for way longer than you.”

Nozomi shakes her head. Impatient children, so fixed on precise times—in cooking, that isn’t what matters! It’s the result. “You will learn,” she says, and Nahoko just makes a little indignant noise in response.

Between the three of them, they get the curry simmering away. Ash expresses surprise when Nozomi adds a dash of red wine, sniffs the steam and looks absolutely delighted when he thinks she isn’t looking, and takes the time while they wait for the broth to boil to type everything she’s told him into his phone. She repeats things as necessary, and Nahoko laughs at her for not having precise measurements for anything.

Nozomi shows him her preferred mixture of curry blocks, using some golden and some dark so the curry doesn’t just taste like it’s right out of the box, and she teaches him to melt the curry blocks in the ladle before fully lowering them into the curry, so there are no lumps. He’s a good student, nodding eagerly at every tip she offers, and taking notes on his recipe every now and then.

A little over an hour passes, the three of them working in the kitchen, and then sitting and talking while they wait. The simmering curry and the boiling water in the rice cooker are loud enough that both Nozomi and Nahoko jump when Eiji suddenly calls, “Tadaima!”

_How_ did Ash hear him come in? Nozomi shakes her head as she calls, “Okaeri!”

Eiji comes striding into the kitchen, grocery bags in hand, eyes dark and jaw set—clearly ready to argue and snap if Ash looks upset.

Instead, he sees Ash at the stove, grating an apple into the curry, smiling warmly at him. “Hey. Find everything?”

“Yeah, but…” Eiji trails off, looking from Ash to Nozomi, who just smiles at him patiently. See, Eiji? She isn’t trying to upset his boyfriend!

Eiji puts the bags on the counter, and Nahoko automatically hops down from the barstool to help him put the groceries away. She’s unrepentantly grinning at how bewildered Eiji looks. “What, Nii-san? Did you think we wouldn’t take good care of him? Protective chicken!”

Ash lets out a tiny snort. He sets the grater down.

“Maybe.” Eiji blinks. He really is taken aback, if he isn’t even responding to Nahoko calling him a chicken. “Did you make…?”

“Your mom wanted a hand in the kitchen while you were out, to make dinner.” Ash neglects to mention that he got the recipe, Nozomi notes. Perhaps he’d like to surprise Eiji with it later. The thought warms her heart, almost as much as the way Ash is looking at her son right now—it’s so openly tender that she nearly turns away to give them privacy.

“Oh,” Eiji says softly. He puts the milk in the fridge, then goes to Ash, touching his arm. “You are okay?”

“Promise.” Ash’s smile only gets more tender, if that’s possible, and Nozomi does look away this time. “We had a good time.”

“Oh,” Eiji repeats.

He turns to look at Nozomi, then, and tears spring to her eyes. Her son, her sweet little boy… he’s been so tense, and before that so pained, and now?

He’s smiling.

“Thank you, Kaa-san.” Eiji comes over, and he hugs her, and—

Nozomi hugs him tight, pressing him to herself, and rubs his back. “You are welcome, dear.” When was the last time he came to her to hug her like this? When was the last time he sought her out?

(Is this Ash’s influence on him, too?)

When Eiji finally pulls back, his eyes are a little too-bright. Nozomi blinks back her own tears, smiles, and pats his cheek.

“You came home right in time,” she says, and smiles at him tremulously. “Will you set the table?”

Nahoko lets out a peal of laughter. “Should have taken five more minutes, Nii-san!”

Eiji puffs his cheeks out, petulant even if he doesn’t complain aloud at being told to do another chore the second he gets home. But as he turns to get the plates down from the cabinet, he’s laughing, and that’s really all Nozomi needs to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and there we have it!!! weekend at the okumuras, complete.
> 
> i had a LOT of fun writing this piece and tbh i'm a little tempted to add more or maybe another fic in this verse about nozomi finding out what a shit father ash had and being like "excuse me What the Fuck" and also slowly repairing her relationship with eiji 
> 
> and also nahoko continuing to have nothing between her ears. she is so dumb. i love my idiot daughter but god she is stupid
> 
> but yes!!! thank you all for reading!!! comments are very appreciated!!! ♥

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! the title comes from the eponymous hemingway novel.
> 
> updates will be weekly; the full fic is already written!!


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